26 replies to this topic

[Natalia]

Good news seems to come in threes. First the Farrell Ballet troupe with rare Balanchines, then the San Francisco Ballet with a mixed bill (not just R&J)...and now this! The KennCen has just revealed details of the March 2013 tour and it's a beauty. Mostly Balanchines. Mostly major. Plus a major Robbins.

http://www.kennedy-c...ts/?event=BNBSH

Program A (March 26 & 27 eves. and 31 mat.)
Swan Lake (Balanchine/Tchaikovsky)
Allegro Brillante (Balanchine/Tchaikovsky)
Tschaikovsky Suite No.3 (Balanchine/Tchaikovsky)

Program B (March 28 & 29 eves., 30 mat. & eve.)
Glass Pieces (Robbins/Glass)
Carousel (A Dance) (Wheeldon/Rodgers)
Vienna Waltzes (Balanchine/J. Strauss Jr., Lehar, and R. Strauss)

Yes, this is the rarely-seen one-act Swan Lake by Mr. B....and the full Tchai Suite no 3, of which 'Theme & Variations' is but the 4th and final segment.

What began as an announcement of a seemingly 'kiddie-centric' Kennedy Center ballet season is turning into a dream for adults.

p.s. Edited to add: part of the ABT Mixed Bill (to precede the weekend Corsaires) has also been posted on the KennCen web...and more 'major Balanchine' on tap!:

Mixed Repertory Program (Apr. 9 & 10)
Symphony in C (Balanchine/Bizet)
The Moor's Pavane (Limón/Purcell)
Final Work to be Announced  [... there's still room for Ratmansky's FIREBIRD here!]

Also, the details of the Ballet Across America III mini-festival have been posted. Among the works to be performed are two other 'major Balanchines' -- Symph in 3 Movements (Boston Ballet) and Fout Ts (Pa. Ballet) and many other delights, such as Ashton's Les Patineurs with Sarasota Ballet.   I hate to say it but, as things now stand, the Mariinsky's portion of the season (a full week of the Ratmansky Cinderella) is the only one that I plan to miss. I'll miss the Canadians too if all they'll bring is Alice...but there's still room to add a night or two of mixed bill.

[cinnamonswirl]

I had been depressed because both the Kennedy Center and POB programming for next season seemed disappointing/not to my taste, but the KenCen season is actually turning out to be quite good. My faith in Michael Kaiser is restored!

NYCB's Program A looks fantastic. For Program B, I wish they were bringing a different Balanchine (they just brought Vienna Waltzes a few years ago - maybe 4 years), but of course it could be worse.

Thanks for the news, Natalia!

[kfw]

cinnamonswirl, on 14 May 2012 - 06:13 PM, said:

NYCB's Program A looks fantastic. For Program B, I wish they were bringing a different Balanchine (they just brought Vienna Waltzes a few years ago - maybe 4 years), but of course it could be worse.

I agree. I remember Glass Pieces and Carousel at the KC not too long ago as well, and while I love the first and like the second, it's not like the company doesn't have a huge rep to choose from. I don't think they've done the three Tchaikovsky ballets here since they began coming again about 10 (?) years ago.

[Natalia]

Casting now up on the NYCB site but not yet on the KennCen site.

NYCB site casting link:
http://www.nycballet...26-31,-2013.pdf

Wednesday, Mar. 27, may be a day of choice, i.e., Mearns Swan Lake, Bouder T&V (within Tchai Suite 3).

[SimonA]

Natalia, on 18 March 2013 - 07:41 AM, said:

Wednesday, Mar. 27, may be a day of choice, i.e., Mearns Swan Lake, Bouder T&V (within Tchai Suite 3).

Mine, too, though, alas, Tiler Peck isn't dancing in Allegro that night.

[Dale]

Natalia, you've got a very good cast on March 27! I saw that combination this winter and it was lovely.

[Michael]

Friday night will be a good show too - Lauren Lovette going into Ansanelli's old role (that Peck's been dancing lately) in Wheeldon's ballet, plus Lydia Wellington, Brittany Pollack with Lauren King as the first trio Robbins.

[Kathleen O'Connell]

Plenty of opportunities to see the latest cohort of newly-promoted dancers show what they can do! If you happen to be at the Tuesday or Sunday performances of Swan Lake, keep an eye out for Ashley Laracey's lovely, lovely performance in the Pas de Neuf.

Bye-the-bye, the company has posted short performance video clips showcasing each principal and soloist in the "Dancers" section of the NYCB website. Very nice -- and of course, not nearly enough!

[SimonA]

Discount orchestra tickets ($35) are available for the Tuesday, March 26 perf with the code "153755"

[Natalia]

The Kennedy Center run began last night with the first-cast All-Balanchine/All-Tchaikovsky triple bill of Swan Lake, Allegro Brillante and Tchaikovsky Suite no. 3. While the second cast seems the most promising -- I'm calling today 'Super Wednesday'! -- I can thank SimonA for inspiring me to buy a last-minute ticket for the opener, principally to see the amazing Tiler Peck and Amar Ramasar in their only week-day KC appearance as the leads in Allegro Brillante. THANK YOU, SimonA - this was a performance of Allegro for the ages! Tiler and Amar were as sharp and delightfully musical as any leading couple I've seen in this all-too-short 15-minute work. They both played with the music - the wonderful solo piano of Elaine Chelton - as if they WERE the music. Quicksilver footwork was the hallmark of the entire cast, for whom Balanchine created some of his most felicitous choreography, emphasizing the 'canon' aspect of movements quickly repeated, in succession, by each of the four 'demisolo' couples comprising the small ensemble. They deserve mentions:  'bravi' to Lauren King, Ashley Laracey, Megan LeCrone, Brittany Pollack, Austin Laurent, Allen Peiffer, Andrew Scordato and Christian Tworzyanski, all of whom will repear as the ensemble backing tonight's 2nd-cast soloists, Fairchild and Veyette.

Balanchine's compact (1 act) version of Swan Lake is always a delight to view, particularly for the high-energy and perpetuum mobile of the female ensemble of 30 -- count 'em, 30! -- corps swans. (This is definitely a ballet best experienced from the balconies.) I also greatly admired Tyler Angle's solo (to the music usually danced by the 'Big Swans' in Act II), particularly his high entrechats, spontaneously applauded by the audience. Kudos, too, to Savannah Lowery as the leader of the Valse Bluette. Maria Kowroski displayed her lovely long lines as Odette. My only quibble is with the designs -- Miami City Ballet's traditional rendering, with the swans garbed in white tutus, is so much lovelier!

The evening ended with the long -- VERY long -- Tchai Suite no. 3. We waited through three insipid movements to finally feast our eyes on the prize: Theme & Variations!  The ensemble there was admirable...as  were Erica Pereira and Daniel Ulbricht as the leads of the Scherzo (3rd mvmt). I was sorry that the pre-announced Janie Taylor was replaced in the 2nd movement; I hope that she is OK and that we might see her later in the run. I am looking forward to Bouder & Garcia's leading of T&V tonight, along with all of the other casting promises of 'Super Wednesday'!

p.s. Another 'Plus':  last night up in 2nd Tier, I was surrounded by an out-of-town (midwestern USA) tour group of some 70 high school students and their teachers, experiencing their first live ballet performance. Judging from their comments after the show, I believe that NYCB made a boatload of new ballet fans last  night.

[kfw]

Natalia, on 27 March 2013 - 04:05 AM, said:

I can thank SimonA for inspiring me to buy a last-minute ticket for the opener, principally to see the amazing Tiler Peck and Amar Ramasar in their only KC appearance as the leads in Allegro Brillante.

Unless casting was updated in the program last night, they're scheduled to dance it Sunday afternoon as well. Thanks for the report, though. Who replaced Taylor?

[abatt]

Taylor and Marcovici (who are married) are replaced for the run at the KC.  Casting on the NYCB website was updated.

Tiler Peck is incredible in Allegro.  Glad Washington DC got to see her marvelous performance.  Too bad she is not doing the lead in T&V.  She is brilliant.

[kfw]

abatt, on 27 March 2013 - 05:33 AM, said:

Taylor and Marcovici (who are married) are replaced for the run at the KC.  Casting on the NYCB website was updated.

Thank you. Bummer.

[cinnamonswirl]

Am I the only one who doesn't get Tiler Peck? I mean, she's obviously fabulous technician with great energy. Allegro, Tschai Pas, she's brilliant. But I find her one-note -- it's all smiles, happy energy. I can't see her as Odette, for example. She doesn't have the aura (yet). She's young and has lots of time to develop, but I wondered if anyone else felt the same way since I don't think I've ever read anything less-than-glowing about her here.

[abatt]

Tiler Peck was one of the best Swanilda's I've ever seen.  It wasn't merely because of her technical magic, but because of her dramatic skills.  Actually, in my opinion she and Mearns are the best dramatic ballerinas at NYCB.